Motion for Rehearing of Florida PIP Injunction is Denied

On November 26, 2013, the First District Court of Appeals dismissed a motion for rehearing on its October ruling to reverse an injunction placed on reforms to Florida’s PIP system. The reforms, contained within HB 119 and signed into law by Gov. Rick Scott in 2012, ban PIP payments to acupuncturists and massage therapists. The reforms also require that claimants seek treatment from a physician or hospital within 14 days of an accident.

A group of acupuncturists, massage therapists, and chiropractors filed for an injunction, which was ultimately granted. The Court of Appeals ruled in October that the injunction should be reversed. It upheld this decision by denying a motion for rehearing on its ruling.

We wrote in September about reservations expressed by a three-judge panel from the 1st District Court of Appeals regarding the challenge made by acupuncturists, massage therapists and chiropractors to key parts of Florida’s 2012 landmark reform of the personal-injury protection (PIP) auto insurance law, in a blog post titled “Judges Question Challenges Brought to Florida’s No Fault Insurance Law.”